


Everything After

by facelessfanfortyfour



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Future Fic, Near Future
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-04
Updated: 2016-03-06
Packaged: 2018-05-04 23:57:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5353166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/facelessfanfortyfour/pseuds/facelessfanfortyfour
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been over a year since Hawk Moth's defeat and the disappearance of Ladybug and Cat Noir. Everybody has grown and they're moving forward with their lives. This is a story about what happens next.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Her History

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't, uh, really know how to write fanfiction, so this may be terrible (and I apologize in advance if you hated what you read). But, I welcome criticism and suggestions.

The sky looked like it was set ablaze by the setting sun. Tucked cozily in the middle of Paris was a bakery, home of Marinette Dupain-Cheng. On the top floor, she stood at her open window, gazing wistfully at the city around her. The buildings and their ever enticing rooftops. She missed the feeling of the wind whipping through her hair as she jumped from building to building and swinging around with her yo-yo.

It had been quite some time since Marinette last transformed into Ladybug, almost over a year. Since then, Marinette had thrown herself into her studies and other social responsibilities. She was still the class president and she also started thinking about where she wanted to go after she graduated. Would she pursue further schooling? Would she stay in Paris or move somewhere else? It was stressful to think about, but exciting at the same time. The future, though unsure, always seemed bright to Marinette.

Not only had Marinette’s life changed, but she had changed. Her body changed. Some parts curved, other parts grew. Much to Marinette’s dismay, certain parts did not grow enough. She grew her hair out, with it currently reaching all the way down to her waist. She also tied it up into a ponytail, foregoing the pigtails.

She felt an almost insatiable itch to go out and prowl the streets, searching for any victims of the akuma.

Prowl. That seemed like something Cat Noir would say. She missed him gliding through the city with her and even his stupid flirting. A heaviness fell on her heart. It had also been over a year since she had last seen him. Since he had...died.

Cat Noir’s death was not for nothing, and that was what kept Marinette going. Because of him, Hawk Moth had finally been defeated. The city was safe now, completely akuma-free. There was no need for Ladybug or Cat Noir. The police handled the regular criminals and got very cross with Ladybug whenever she tried to help out.

As much as she tried not to, whenever she found herself thinking of Cat Noir, she thought of the things she should have said. She regretted not being able to say a proper goodbye or to thank him for everything. She sobbed as she weakly screamed those things as she searched through the rubble, trying to find him. She searched for hours, until her throat was raw and her hands were bloody.

There was also guilt. A lot of guilt. Marinette had to pretend everything was okay. She wasn’t supposed to know Cat Noir. She wasn’t supposed to know of the ultimate sacrifice he made that day. She wasn’t supposed to grieve. She was supposed to pretend he didn’t exist. But Tikki was always there to remind her to keep moving forward.

Marinette looked towards her ceiling. Somewhere, Tikki napped, safely hidden among the rafters. Tikki slept a lot nowadays. She still went with Marinette whenever she went out, but she always napped. At first, Marinette was extremely worried, but Tikki reassured her that when there is less of a need for Ladybug, she slept more frequently. Marinette was just relieved that Tikki was okay.

The familiar sound a certain car engine came from below. Still looking into the distance, Marinette listened as the engine stopped. She felt a smile spreading across her face. A car door opened and shut. Footsteps and then the bell below rang as the door opened.

Marinette heard her mom greet him. There was some friendly chatter, some laughing, and then she heard her name mentioned, which she assumed was her mom telling him that Marinette was in her room. She heard the stairs creak and footsteps that grew closer and closer. Marinette’s heartbeat quickened.

“Hey, Mari.”

Marinette thought about trying to conceal her eager smile, but gave up, knowing that it wouldn’t work and she’d just make a weird face. She turned around and said, “Hi there, Adrien. Ready for that history exam?”

Adrien stood in her doorway, leaning against the frame gently with his arms crossed. He was wearing a thin, black overcoat with a white t-shirt underneath. The t-shirt had a simple design, with three lines across the chest, cyan, magenta, and yellow. His pants were grey and his shoes were black.

There were some bandages on his hands. There were always bandages there and there always seemed to be new cuts. Old scars from previous cuts showed in white, thin lines. Marinette tried asking him about it before, but he brushed it off and changed the subject.

He sighed as he rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I’m ready…to flunk it.”

“Says the boy who aced every history exam we ever had?” Marinette raised her eyebrow in retort. She walked over to her desk and sat in her swivel chair. She had been studying there earlier, evidenced by her open textbook and notebook in front of her computer.

Adrien cracked a smile.

“You know, I’ve always wondered,” he said, his eyes looking past Marinette. He walked towards her and leaned over her, pointing a finger at her computer screen. He smelled like lilacs and fancy cologne and it made Marinette’s head lighter and heart flutter. “Why do you have such a boring computer background? You seem like the type of girl who would have some super colorful and glittery picture, with hearts and everything.”

Marinette swallowed. “Oh, uh, well, y’know, I had a picture like that of my cr—no, cat, yeah, of my cat and then it passed away so I got sad and changed it,” she said, stuttering and stumbling over her words.

Adrien frowned but gave a slight shrug before pulling back and straightening his back. He was so tall now, Marinette almost had to crane her neck back just to look at his face. Her head only reached up to his shoulders now.

Adrien was used to Marinette’s weird outbursts like that by now. It happened a lot when they first started being around each other more. Marinette could barely say a complete sentence. The more they hung out, the less it happened. It happened very rarely now, only when something awkward from her past about him is brought up. Like her background.

A while ago, long enough where it was a now distant, favorite memory, Adrien had come over for the first time. Marinette had been anxious and ecstatic. One second, she was panicking and calling Alya in near tears. The next second, she was uncontrollably giggling and melting while still on the phone. Adrien started walking up the stairs and she realized that her background was still that collage of him and in a hurried panic, she deleted it and changed her background to the blue, plain one it was now. She had nearly broken her computer in the process.

“Let’s get started!” Marinette got up abruptly, wanting to change the subject. She grabbed her textbook and went to her bed, plopping her butt down. “So, Rome, right?

Adrien followed her and sat down next to her, his arm pushing against her arm. Marinette could feel her heartbeat quickening.

“Do you ever think about what happened to Ladybug and Cat Noir?” Adrien asked.

“It has been a while since they’ve…been around.” Marinette felt a lump in her throat, reminded again of Cat Noir.

“Yeah...” Adrien trailed. His face was downcast and Marinette was surprised by how wistful he sounded. It seemed like there was more he wanted to say.

“At least the city’s safe,” Marinette said. It was all she could say.

And it was. But, not for much longer.


	2. His History

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien's side of the story. He lost a lot that day, but he saved the only person that mattered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still trying to figure out how I want to format these chapters. It's more accurate to say this is the second part of the first chapter, rather than whole chapter itself. If you have any suggestions or corrections, don't hesitate to say something!

_Then_

“Cataclysm!”

Cat Noir’s hand slammed into the ground, the ancient powers of bad luck traveled through the floor and down the walls and didn’t stop until it had touched every part of this damned building. The whole building started shaking. The walls, the ceiling, everything started crumbling. Hundreds of butterflies fluttering around the room in panic, trying to escape. 

“What have you done, you insolent fleabag?!” Hawk Moth struggled to free himself, but Cat Noir had him pinned to the ground and he had no intention of letting him go. Cat Noir had put almost every last ounce of his strength into that Cataclysm, leaving only enough to stop Hawk Moth. 

Cat Noir ignored Hawk Moth and looked for Ladybug. Through the white, glowing wings of the butterflies, standing in front of the hole where a window had once been, a spotlight of moonlight shined on her. She looked at him with shock. He grinned.

“Cat Noir, what are you doing?!” She yelled across the room. He watched as her eyes darted across the room as she bit her lip subtlety yet there was an intensity to be found there. He recognized that look. He used to love that look. She was cleverly figuring out how to save the day, how to save everybody. But, it was Cat Noir’s time to save the day for once. They couldn’t all be saved and it had to end right here, right now. She had to be the one saved.

“Don’t look like such a wet cat,” Cat Noir yelled out to her, still grinning. He reached behind him and grabbed his staff. He pointed it at her and he swallowed hard, his mischievous grin faltering. Her eyes widened when she realized what he was going to do. 

“No!” 

“Farewell, my lady.” He extended his staff. It hit her in the stomach and pushed her backwards, through the hole and out of Hawk Moth’s collapsing tower. Then, the floor below Cat Noir and Hawk Moth gave and they fell down. Before descending in the dark depths below, he managed to see Ladybug, trying to throw something at him. Her yo-yo to try and grab him probably, but it was too late. 

As he fell, he lost sight of Hawk Moth. He felt all the fatigue from the brutal fight that had transpired prior and him using all of his power to use Cataclysm flood over him. His vision blurred and started going dark. The last thing he remembered was the faint beeping of his Miraculous. Time was up.

“I’m sorry, Plagg.”

Then Adrien woke up. At first, he thought he was dead, floating in the void because he could see nothing but darkness. But then he moved and every part of his being screamed in pain and soreness. He was either very alive or he had made one too many cat puns and now had to pay for it in Hell. 

Very weakly and very slowly, Adrien got up. He was in an open space and he was notably not crushed by the debris. After feeling around, he figured out three things. One, he was in some sort of tunnel underneath Hawk Moth’s lair. Two, Hawk Moth was probably crushed under the debris above, as he couldn’t find Hawk Moth’s body. Three, his Miraculous was gone. 

Adrien spent hours on the ground, searching for his Miraculous in the dark. He had to stop when the hunger and thirst set in and moving became progressively harder until he could barely move at all. Adrien managed to stumble through the tunnel, following a wall, until he found a ladder leading up. He returned to his house after reaching the surface, which was luckily relatively close.

After resting, eating, and taking a long hot shower, Adrien returned to the tunnel with a flashlight. To his surprise, there was a pile of debris where he had woken up. He started searching through the rubble, looking for his Miraculous and Plagg. He searched and searched until his fingers bled and his stomach hurt from hunger. He couldn’t find them.

Every night, Adrien returned and searched. Once he finished searching the tunnel, he started searching the rubble above. Sometimes, he would keep searching until the sun started rising and his fingers were cut up. For a while, he was worried that Hawk Moth had survived and taken his Miraculous, but nothing happened. Hawk Moth never reappeared and no more akuma victims popped up. 

So, Adrien kept searching.

_Now_

Mari’s background on her computer was blue. Just…blue. There was no design, no outline of a picture, no best-friends-forever collage with her and Alya. It struck Adrien as odd whenever he saw it. She was so full of life. Hell, she was fashion designer for crying out loud! But, maybe he was just thinking into it too much. He probably was.

Tonight, he asked her about and she gave him one of her infamous incompressible responses. Adrien never did quite understand what she meant or why she did that, he just chalked it up to being a Mari quirk. She was a quirky girl. She reminded Adrien of Ladybug in that way.

This time, Mari’s quirk reminded Adrien about his Miraculous, Pragg, and how he was never going to be Cat Noir again. He wondered how Mari thought about the disappearance of Cat Noir. She did think he was pretty cool. Was she sad about it? Probably not. She barely even talked to Cat Noir. 

Before he could help himself, words were spilling from his mouth. “Do you ever think about what happened to Ladybug and Cat Noir?”

“It has been a while since they’ve…been around.” Mari seemed sad. Sadder than Adrien would have ever thought she’d be. 

“Yeah…” 

“At least the city’s safe.” Mari said. She always went looking for the bright side to every situation, but this time, her sad expression remained. 

Adrien nudged Mari’s arm with his and smiled. “Even if it isn’t, I’m sure Ladybug will be there to save the day.”

Mari smiled and nodded in agreement. 

The two started studying after that. There was something about being around Mari that made Adrien feel comfortable. Safe. 

A few hours and a few yawns from both Mari and Adrien later, they decided to call it a night. Adrien drove towards his house but kept driving straight when he was supposed to turn. He soon arrived at the site of the destroyed building. Even though it a year had passed, the city had not yet cleaned up the wreckage. 

The previous mayor was involved in a giant scandal around the time of Hawk Moth’s defeat. The mayor and his family fled the country, leaving the city in disarray. Only recently have things started going back to normal, with the new mayor meticulously fixing the former mayor’s mess. 

Adrien started digging through the rubble with a flashlight propped on a rock nearby to give him light. As he dug, he failed to notice a small, black fluttering pair of wings rise from small space he had previously cleared out. It carried a small, pink bow.


	3. The Cheesy Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for a reunion of sorts when a new villain shows up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Halfway through writing this chapter, I thought, "Man, I really don't like writing the action/fighting the akuma part" so I lost motivation, and my time was eaten up by classes, so I stopped. Spring break started and instead of going somewhere exciting or exotic, I decided to finish the chapter and just skipped the fights. Ladybug and Cat Noir are the heroes of the story and the ML is the kind of show where the heroes always win, so why waste our time churning out pointless battles? I've also decided what I want this story to be about, which is the daily lives of Marinette, Adrien, Ladybug, and Cat Noir and how the dynamic between all of them have changed over the past year. And, as always, if you find any problems or have any suggestions, feel free to comment or message me about them.

_Their Prologue_

 

“We apologize deeply, sir, but you must close down your store by the end of today.”

“Y-you can’t be serious! I put everything into this b-business. I’m ruined without it!” Pascal Pilot stood at the door of his store, aghast. He was a middle-aged man, small in stature and often soft-spoken. He was the type to wear argyle sweaters frequently.

The police officers standing in front of Pascal and his business, the _Classful Cheese_ , exchanged a knowing look. They didn’t like this part of the job, which they have been having to do more and more frequently since the new mayor had come into office.

“We’re very sorry, but it’s one of Mayor Haute’s new policies. Your store does not meet the standards required to stay in business,” said one of the officers, his tone genuinely apologetic.

“I…” Pascal couldn’t seem to find the words. He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t like speaking against the police, since he thought they were a good force, and he quite liked Mayor Haute, but at the same time he didn’t want to just up and close his business. It was his life.

The other police officer nudged the other with his arm and nodded. “We have delivered your warning. You have until the sun sets to close down,” he said before the two walked away.

Pascal slid his hand over his head, a nervous habit he had acquired when his hair started to fall out. Dejected, he went back into his store, not bothering to turn on the lights. He sat at the front counter and shoved his hand into his pocket. From within, he pulled out a small keychain shaped like a block of cheese that had a smiley face on it. It was an old gift given to him by a friend.

“Oh, sweet Lucy, what am I to do now?”

Above, an unseen black butterfly fluttered about. It descended upon Pascal and landed on the keychain.

 

_Her Present_

 

“That test was the worst,” Marinette complained, flinging her arm over Alya’s shoulders and leaning on her for support. The two friends were walking down the front steps of their school.

Alya chuckled and teasingly poked Marinette’s cheek. “Maybe you should spend less time staring at Adrien and actually study with him, like you’re supposed to.”

“But he’s so cute when he’s talking about gladiators,” Marinette said, her eyes glazing over, suddenly now lost in the memories. She then realized what she said and shook herself out of it. “I, uh, I mean, I do study! I don’t admire him and his wonderful, perfect face…all the time.”

Alya and Marinette looked at each other before bursting out laughing.

“Speaking of lover boy, why is he always tired all the time?” Alya pointed towards the street, where Adrien was getting into a car waiting for him. As usual, Adrien had some kind of photoshoot scheduled during lunch. “I’ve heard his agent totally freaking out on him for the bags under his eyes.”

“He’s told me it was insomnia,” Marinette said, frowning as she watched Adrien ride off in the car. She could make out the faint outline of him yawning.

“Maybe,” Alya said with a shrug.

“Why do you find that suspicious?” It made sense to Marinette. Why would Adrien lie about such a thing?

“I don’t know, it’s just weird to me,” Alya said. “It started happening the same time he started wearing those bandages on his hands.”

Marinette bit her lip. “Maybe you’re right, maybe there is something going on with him. I guess I’ve been too caught up in the fact that we’ve actually been hanging out more,” she said, her face downcast. How could she miss something so obvious like that?! She was with Adrien so much nowadays…

Alya grabbed Marinette by the shoulders and shook her out of it. “Don’t sweat it, girl. It’s his business. And who knows, it may even be nothing. In fact, it’s probably nothing!”

Marinette smiled gratefully. Alya always knew what to say, but before she could say anything, the sounds of screaming filled the air. The two whipped their heads towards the source, Marinette’s face filled with horror while Alya’s was filled with excitement.

“Do…do you think…” Marinette couldn’t finish. So many emotions were crashing into her. Fear. Anger. Sadness.

“Yes! Either way, I’m checking it out,” Alya said. She jumped off the remaining stairs and hit the ground running. “LadyBlog, this is our big comeback!”

“Alya, wait!” But it was too late, Alya had already disappeared around a corner.

Marinette bit her lip, frozen.

“It could just a bank robbery or something,” she whispered, trying to convince herself. Rationalizing.

Suddenly, the ground shook, causing Marinette to lurch forward and tumble down the stairs. Her butt landed firmly on the pavement, causing her to yelp out in pain.

“Still totally could be a bank robbery. That could’ve been the bomb,” she muttered, rubbing her now sore bottom, trying to get her bearings straight. When she did, she wished she didn’t. She really, really wished she didn’t.

In the distance, there was a large fountain of some golden liquid-like substance. Marinette gulped. She couldn’t really rationalize that as a bank robbery…but it could be some weird meltdown at a cheese factory.

“Marinette, somebody has been evilized,” Tikki said suddenly, startling Marinette. Tikki was now awake and floating next to Marinette, looking at the golden fountain as well.

“That means he’s back, isn’t he?”

Tikki shook her small, pink head. “I know what you’re thinking, Marinette, but that most likely isn’t it. The akuma have existed as long as I have. It could something.”

Marinette took a deep breath and slapped herself on the face with her hands to refocus herself. People were in danger, she couldn’t just stand there and worry about whether or not Hawk Moth was back. She ran behind the stairs, where nobody could see her.

 

…

 

Ladybug leapt from one building from the next, sailing through the air with such grace. It had been over a year since she had last donned the costume, but her body was still used to the motions. It was like no time had passed at all. Her costume was the exactly same. It even tied her hair in twintails again.

The golden fountain persisted with no signs of stopping. The closer she got, the streets started to show signs of the weird, golden liquid.

When Ladybug finally arrived at the source, her eyes widened and she gasped with what she saw before her. In the center of the street, the ground was ruptured where the fountain came from. The street was filling with the liquid. It seemed thick, but it wasn’t lava or anything of the sort. It had a weird, sour yet familiar scent to it.

A man floated in front of the fountain, laughing maniacally. He was covered in all different kinds of cheese that he looked like a clumpy, multi-colored ball of cheese. It occurred to her that the fountain was of cheese. Liquid cheese. A lot of liquid cheese.

“Um.” Ladybug had seen some pretty weird villains in the past, but this was certainly one of the odder ones. “Hey, you, uh, cheese thing, stop!”

The cheese man stopped his laughing and looked at Ladybug with a sneer. “I am not a cheese thing. I am the Big Cheese! And you, Ladybug, will forfeit your Miraculous to me or suffer my cheesy wrath!”

“No, thanks,” Ladybug said with a scowl as she started spinning her yo-yo.

The Big Cheese laughed at the sight of her yo-yo. “Hah! Ridiculous girl! You think you can defeat me with a piece of plastic on a string?!”

“Wait, what—“

Before Ladybug could fully react, the Big Cheese pointed at her and a stream of cheese shot out from the large fountain and sent her flying several blocks back. The cheese solidified into a gel-like goo that prevented Ladybug from moving her arms. She couldn’t use her yo-yo to land.

Ladybug closed her eyes, bracing from the inevitably painful impact. Instead, however, she collided with something soft and she tumbled into the ground, bruised but not as bad as it could have been. She heard a grunt and opened her eyes to see familiar face below hers.

“Adrien?!”

 

_His Present_

 

The photoshoot Adrien was supposed to go to was cancelled due to unexpected issues. From what Adrien could tell, those issues were actually just one issue. A giant geyser of liquid cheese erupted in the middle of the street near the photoshoot and the streets were completely flooded. There was also apparently some guy dressed as a big ball of cheese.

Adrien ran down the sidewalk, towards the ruins of Hawk Moth’s tower. It was obvious that somebody had been possessed by an akuma. He didn’t want Ladybug to have to fight alone. He needed to find his Miraculous before she or anybody else got hurt.

When he reached the remains of the tower, he saw something red flying through the air towards him. He immediately recognized who it was and dashed forward, holding his arms out. He caught her, in a sense. His body acted more like a cushion for her and they fell to the pavement, rolling. He felt his breath catch when she said his name, her face only inches away from his.

Time seemed to slow down as Adrien got lost in Ladybug’s bright, blue eyes. It had been so long since he had seen her. During sleepless nights, he thought of what he would say to Ladybug if he ever saw her again. Countless things, but what it boiled down to was his feelings for her. It was now or never, even if he wasn’t Cat Noir at the moment. Yet, nothing came to mind. He couldn’t find the words. He just wanted this moment to never stop.

“Adrien,” Ladybug said again, bringing Adrien back to the present. She quickly stood up and helped Adrien to his feet. “Are you hurt?”

Adrien was taken aback from such genuine concern that emanated from her voice. She was as kind as she had always been. “Y-yeah, I am. Thanks, Ladybug.”

Ladybug nodded, relieved. She then began to look around, presumably looking for the evilized villain. “You should get out of here, it’s danger—”

It finally happened, like Adrien expected. She realized where they were. Adrien wasn’t the only one who lost Cat Noir that night. He bit his lip, debating whether or not he should just tell her the truth. Tell her what happened and apologize for making her think he was dead.

“Ladybug, I have to—”

Ladybug started walking forward, towards the pile of rubble, not hearing Adrien. She bent down and moved a few pieces of the rubble.

“What’s going on?” Adrien asked, walking up behind her and looking over her shoulder.

“There’s something in here, something reflecting the sunlight,” she said. She stood up and turned towards Adrien. She held out her hand. “Isn’t this yours?”

In the palm of her hand laid a silver ring. Adrien’s jaw dropped.

“I-I’ve been looking for this for ages now,” he said, reaching out to it. His hand was shaking. “How did you know it was mine?”

“Oh, um, I just…noticed that you always wore a ring…and now you aren’t wearing a ring,” Ladybug said, stammering, color rising to her cheeks. She suddenly shoved the ring into Adrien’s hand and turned away. “I’ve got to go stop that guy, so please be safe!”

Without another word, Ladybug threw out her yo-yo and swung away. Although Adrien was always sad to see her go, it was perfect timing. He held the ring up to the sun, admiring it. Savoring it, in the case that this happened to be a dream.

When he sure he wasn’t, he slipped it on.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“There better be a feast of Camembert waiting for me.”


End file.
